Architectural lighting has served a pivotal role in modern interior design, where light fixtures not only provide adequate general illumination to a space, but they also enhance the aesthetic appeal of certain areas or objects within that space. Adding colored light in a certain spatial pattern relative to a typically uniformly distributed white light creates a contrasting effect that easily catches the viewers' attention. Thus, a luminaire with a color accent is very attractive for certain environments, such as a showroom that displays commercial merchandise, a museum that displays art objects, a hotel or corporate office lobby that provides enhanced illumination to a personnel desk, a performance stage that provides focused illumination on a certain area or a certain performer et cetera.
One conventional way to provide color accent lighting is to bundle multiple luminaires in a close proximity, each emitting light of a single color, to create a color mixture. With this approach, however, the size of the combined fixtures becomes substantial. In addition, controlling the intensity of each luminaire, and synchronizing it with other luminaire outputs, is complicated and cumbersome.
Luminaires using color filters, such as colored glass or polymeric sheets, to produce a desired color effect are also available. Filtered color, however, is often greatly attenuated, and it fails to deliver adequate clarity or glow to create a dramatic effect. Additionally, it is difficult to dynamically change the output accent color using filters because most filters are designed for use within a certain range of wavelengths.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit colored light are available. LEDs are typically smaller in size than other light sources, but conventional control circuits to drive colored LEDs are complex and unsuitable for integration in luminaires. Available user-interface modules for controlling colored LEDs also provide minimal color programming functionality.
Conventional lighting control systems also have limitations as illustrated by the system of FIG. 1. For example, conventional luminaires electrically connected together so that their light output is controllable from a single user-interface module cannot be individually controlled and managed. As a result, it is not possible, for example, using a conventional lighting control system to change the intensity or color output of one luminaire of a string of luminaires without effecting the intensity or color output of the other luminaires.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional lighting system 100 includes several luminaires 102a-102n that are electrically connected in series with wiring 112. The luminaires are controlled by a controller 103 that includes a user interface module 106 and a circuit interface box 104. User interface module 106 is typically wall-mounted for easy access. Circuit interface box 104 is connected to user interface module 106 with electrical wiring 108 and to luminaire 102a with electrical wiring 110. User interface module 106 and circuit interface box 104 both have their own power supply. User interface module 106 typically includes one or more dimmer switches 105, in which each dimmer switch controls the intensity of all of the lamps of luminaires 102a-102n having a particular color (e.g., red lamps).
In the example shown in FIG. 1, luminaires 102a-102n include red lamps, green lamps, and blue lamps, and user interface module 106 includes three dimmer switches 105, one for adjusting red lamps, one for adjusting green lamps, and one for adjusting blue lamps. One of the dimmer switches 105, for example, adjusts the intensity of all of the red lamps in luminaires 102a-102n. Mixed color output is created by adjusting the relative intensity of individual colors. In conventional lighting system 100, all luminaires 102a-102n output the same color.
What is needed is architectural lighting and a control system that overcomes the deficiencies noted above.